Docs still wary of informing parents about child's weightIn 2008, 29% of parents of children with a BMI at or above the 85th percentile said doctors told them their child was overweight, up from 19% in 1999, a study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine revealed. However, only 58% of parents of more-obese children said their doctors informed them about their child's weight. Time.com/Healthland blog
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Report questions common dietary beliefsWeight management is more complex than just balancing calorie intake and energy expenditure, according to a report and consensus statement from the American Society for Nutrition and the International Life Sciences Institute. The report, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, calls into question common beliefs about weight loss, including the idea that small dietary changes can have a big effect over time. FoodNavigator
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More providers participate in quality reporting, e-Rx programsAbout 269,000 eligible health professionals were involved in the Physician Quality Reporting System in 2010, an increase from 210,000 in 2009 and 153,000 in 2008, and they received $391.6 million in incentives from the CMS. Data also showed nearly 131,000 of the 696,000 eligible professionals joined the e-prescribing incentive program and earned $271 million in incentives in 2010, up from 89,000 participants in 2009. Family Practice News
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Trends & Technology

Calif. poll shows concerns about childhood obesityA Field Poll of 1,000 likely California voters showed 3 out of 5 would support imposing a special tax on soft drinks to fight childhood obesity and about half said the biggest threats to child health were unhealthy eating habits and a lack of exercise. Most agreed that children and families had a major role in reducing obesity but that health care providers, schools and communities should also be involved. San Francisco Chronicle
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